Method of using aircraft for providing mobile network connection and locating subscribers in specified areas

ABSTRACT

A system for tracking mobile subscribers, the system includes an aircraft having an on-board virtual BTS that substitutes for a stationary BTS. The virtual BTS emulates a behavior of the stationary BTS so as to be indistinguishable from the stationary BTS to the mobile device, including emulation of communication protocols and billing operations The virtual BTS communicate with the mobile devices. The virtual BTS includes a processor running Software Defined Radio (SDR) and a signal amplifier, the SDR receiving identifiers of the mobile devices. The aircraft includes a high-gain antenna for determining directions of signals from the mobile devices. A camera on board the aircraft takes images or video of an area on the ground. The processor collects and processes the images or video, the directions of the signals and the identifiers of the mobile devices to locate a specific subscriber. The processor transmits the processed information to a server.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/560,127, filed on Dec. 4, 2014, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/911,822, filed on Dec. 4, 2013,both incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to mobile networks and, in particular, tomeans and methods of providing mobile connection in specified areas, aswell as collecting statistics and identifying data of mobile networksubscribers located in the area.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

The present invention relates mainly to mobile communicationtechnologies. The existing mobile networks (2G/3G/4G) are also known as“cellular networks” because of their structure. A network comprisesseveral functional entities with functions and interfaces that can bespecified individually. For example, a GSM-network consists of 3 mainparts: a Mobile Station, a Base Station Subsystem, which maintains aradio frequency connection with the Mobile Station, and a NetworkSubsystem. The core of the Network Subsystem is the Mobile ServicesSwitching Center, or the Switching Center, which not only switchessubscribers' communication channels, but also controls mobile services.An Operations and Maintenance Center verifies validity of networkoperations and prepares new networks for operations. The subsystems ofthe Mobile Station and Base Station are connected via a UM-interface,which is also known as “air interface” or “radio link”. The Base StationSubsystem is connected to the Switching Center via an A-interface. Basestations and their controllers primarily use wired connections, but canalso be connected by means of wireless interfaces or satellites.

Each base station has its “capacity”, which is the maximum number ofsubscribers that can be connected to a station. Consequently, thecapacity of an area is the total capacity of all base stations situatedin that area. In order to expand capacity of the network, additionalbase stations have to be built, or existing equipment has to be replacedor upgraded to provide extra radio channels. However, this method hasits drawbacks from financial point of view: peak traffic in an area canexceed the maximum capacity of the base stations area, e.g., during someevent, but after the event is over, such traffic will not be achievedagain for a long time, thus leaving expanded capacity unused. For suchsituations, major mobile communications providers employ mobile basestations—usually trucks with a mast antenna for a BTS (base transmittingstation). It receives subscribers' signals, converts them (to satellitesignals, for instance) and then transmits them to the provider's network(e.g., to a base station controller).

Such a conventional approach can be used to expand capacity in thespecified area quickly and cheaply, but in order to work well, severallimitations exist on the conventional approach, such as: the area mustbe passable for base-station-carrying vehicles, there should bealternative data transmitting channels to external networks, to theprovider's network, and so on

The invention described below allows to avoid some of the limitationsposed by geographical conditions of an area and availability ofalternative means of communication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention consists of two independent parts: an aircraft and aconnection spot, which can function in different modes according to thetasks and objectives it is used for, as well as a videocamera anddirectional antenna(s).

An unpiloted aircraft (UAV) may be used, such as: a helicopter, aballoon, a blimp, a dirigible balloon, an air drone (includingquadracopter-type aircraft with any number of engines), an unmannedaircraft, a GPS-controlled aircraft, a plane, etc. The invention placesno particular limits on the aircraft's aerodynamic parameters, its powerand traction, or type of fuel it uses. The aircraft can be controlledvia the same link (channel) as the connection spot, or it can have aseparate control link. For example, the aircraft can be controlled viaone of the wireless channels (and video can be downloaded from theaircraft using a wireless channels), or separate channels can be used.

A connection spot can be a base station (virtual BTS) conforming to oneor more connection standards (2G/3G/4G), or a software-defined radio.The range of functions it can perform depends on the working mode. Theavailable modes are:

-   -   subscriber identification mode (in a specified area)    -   subscriber search mode (in a specified area)    -   subscriber connection mode (to their provider's network)    -   isolated network mode

These modes have the following uses:

-   -   Subscriber identification mode can be used for security breach        checks in large areas, such as mountains, deserts, industrial        zones, squares. In this mode, the connection spot collects        identifying data of neighboring mobile stations and terminals        (IMSIs and/or IMEIs) extracting them from the GSM/3G/LTE        traffic, since during authorization, IMSI is transmitted, and        IMEI can be transmitted as well, therefore, passive monitoring        of the radio channel can provide this information. Optionally,        the system can cut off subscribers, which are on the black list        or not on the white list, from network. The data thus collected        can be promptly transmitted to a remote server or control        device, and also be stored in local memory. A directional        antenna can be used, with the gain profile corresponding to the        field of view of the video camera, which permits matching the        images from the camera with identifiers of the mobile devices        collected by the BTS.    -   Subscriber search mode can be used during law enforcement        searches or rescue operations. The system can be used either in        sparsely populated areas (forests/deserts/mountains) or, with        some convenience and efficiency issues, in densely populated        areas (cities/living or working districts/transport hubs/etc.).        In this mode, the system can look for specific subscribers, or        for all available subscribers. An available subscriber, in this        case, should be connected to a mobile terminal or station        operating using one of connection standards provided by the        connection spot. When a (specific) subscriber is found, the        system tries to connect to their mobile device, thus enabling to        find them by a sound signal. Also, the connection device can be        used to transmit urgent messages. Another method of looking for        mobile devices is possible due to the mobility of the BTS by        measuring the strength of the signal received from the phone        from various locations and with various antenna orientations.        This permits more precise determination of location of the        mobile device, without the mobile device user being aware of it.    -   Subscriber connection mode allows to employ the connection spot        as a mobile BTS—a part of the network infrastructure. This mode        is convenient for providing connection in areas, that are        difficult to access or possess landscape features (mountains,        ravines, crevices), which requires a BTS to be positioned fairly        high to provide good coverage. In this mode, the connection spot        can imitate a BTS, or BTS+BSC as well—which will determine the        node in the network structure to be used for connection to the        provider.    -   Isolated network mode allows to deploy an independent network in        the specified area, in addition to or in parallel with existing        providers and their zones of coverage. The system can operate        using any available standard; it allows to link mobile devices        and mobile terminals connected to the connection spot. Such a        connection bypasses providers' billing systems and is thus free        of charge for subscribers (an independent billing system can        also be set up). External connections can be made via VoIP        services and SMS-gateways. The system can be used as an        alternative to a walkie-talkie network for a group of people as        it doesn't require any special equipment.

Below is the description of preferred embodiments of the invention toimplement its functions. A software-defined radio (SDR) can be used toimitate either a single node of the existing network or a substantialpart of the entire network structure by means of software modules.Software-defined radio (SDR) is a radio communication system wherecomponents that have been typically implemented in hardware (e.g.mixers, filters, amplifiers, modulators/demodulators, detectors, etc.)are instead implemented by means of software on a personal computer orembedded system. The system is connected to the mobile station via amobile communications standard (GSM/CDMA/LTE) through a Um-interface(i.e., the interface between the mobile device and the base station) andsupports all the functions of these protocols. All data sent andreceived may be stored either locally and remotely, and be transmittedto a control device as well.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description that follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Theadvantages of the invention will be realized and attained by thestructure particularly pointed out in the written description and claimshereof as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ATTACHED FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and,together with the description, serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates an algorithm for identifying subscriber channels andintelligent channel jamming, in accordance with the exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary mobile device that can be usedin the invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary implementation of the mobiledevice.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary system utilizing the ideas describedherein.

FIG. 5 illustrates another aspect of the exemplary system utilizing theideas described herein.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary computer system that may be used in thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

While the use of drone aircraft has been increasing in recent years,these drones are primarily concerned with providing of photo, video andgeolocation data, depending on the purpose of the flight. Such systems,however, do not provide an ability to track and focus on a specificperson, except possibly through the use of image recognition techniques,which are not always reliable and not always practical. The presentinvention provides for an ability to identify individuals that arewithin camera view (and within a directional sensitivity of an antenna)based on unique identifiers of mobile phones used by the people inquestion.

Although the use of airborne Wi-Fi access points is known, such anapproach is only marginally successful for identifying individuals,because:

-   -   Not all mobile phones have their Wi-Fi chip turned on    -   Not all phones permit identification using the MAC address, and        some phones randomize the MAC address when searching for a        network.

When using GSM/3G/4G type networks, a number of things have to be doneto successfully identify users of the phones. For example, the frequencyneeds to be dynamically changed, to avoid mutual jamming of thefrequency by a BTS that is nearby.

A subscriber is identified using a following procedure:

a) when a subscriber enters the area covered by a directive gainantenna, they are re-connected to a connection device located on theaircraft;

b) a camera located on the aircraft takes picture or video footage ofthe subscriber (or a group of people containing the subscriber);

c) a mobile device sends its identifying data (IMSI and IMEI) to theconnection device;

d) these identifying data is used to find the subscriber in the mobilecommunications provider's database;

e) full data are then sent to the provider and stored in local memory.

A system of intelligent connection jamming is used to cut off thesubscriber from the provider's network. In order to explain how itworks, the structure of a physical (e.g. GSM) channel should bedescribed. Each base station has at least 2 physical channels: an UpLinkchannel to receive signals from mobile stations and a DownLink channelto send signals to mobile stations. The bandwidth of each channel is 0.2MHz. Each pair of channels is linked to a certain channel number, orARFCN. In order to jam connections in a specified area, the wholefrequency range corresponding to the GSM-standard is usually jammed. Ifsuch an approach is used, it is difficult to re-connect a mobile phoneto a connection spot, because in that case the spot should have highcapacity. The access point needs to transmit at a relatively high power,at a minimum, higher than the noise level. The present invention usesintelligent jamming, which jams only a busy ARFCN, thus enabling tocreate a connection spot from any free ARFCN without any significantcapacity requirements. Thus, only those channels ARFCN channels arejammed that are used by the mobile network operator, while thesubscribers using those channels experience a dropped connection.

Another method for making the mobile devices switch to the airbornemobile BTS is by emulation of the base station of an operator withbetter priority parameters (e.g., C1 and C2 in the GSM standard, similarparameters in other standards). The use of a movable (airborne) basestation gives that advantage that it is possible to assess the radioenvironment prior to launch and operation of the airborne BTS. Withaccumulation of a large amount of data regarding which channels are inuse, it is possible to select the best channel and transmit the bestparameters, compared to a stationary BTS. Thus, subscribers will be morelikely to switch to airborne BTS.

The system also employs directed gain antennas, which focus the entirepower of the transmitter in a narrow angular range, in order forintelligent jamming to work even in the vicinity of real base stations.Also, such an antenna provides for rather precise location ofsubscribers and taking pictures or video footage of them.

After the connection spot occupies a free physical ARFCN-channel, itstarts to imitate a logical BCCH (broadcast) channel, which is used totransmit identifying data of a base station. Operator identificationdata (MCC, MNC, LAC, CELLID) is translated, and priority coefficients ofthe base station that are responsible for the phone selecting the basestation (C1 and C2) are increased, even if another, more powerful basestation is available. In general, it is only required that a basestation with the given identifying data (country and provider numbercodes) is not prohibited. In some cases, it could be necessary that theconnection device in the aircraft imitate a base station of a localprovider. The present invention provides two solutions for that problem:a) there are identifying data of non-existent network and country, whichare transmitted via the logical BCCH-channel, so that the mobilestation, being unable to perceive any real base stations, considersitself to be in roaming and tries to connect to the connection spot; b)the identifying data correspond to a real local provider, but arechanged, thus forcing the mobile station to re-connect. Providing thatgeographical conditions are good, the system returns an IMSI—a uniqueSIM-card ID (which can also yield additional data about its owner, as itis necessary to present personal data when buying a SIM-card in somecountries), an IMEI—a unique mobile device ID (which can help to trackthe history of owners and SIM-cards), and a picture of a subscriber.This data can be sufficient to fully identify a subscriber. Also, videofootage (e.g., from a camera mounted on the aircraft) could bedownloaded to the base station or to a server and used to registerillegal activities.

When it is necessary to find a subscriber and/or his mobile device, thefollowing is performed:

1. An approximate location is determined using the video camera and thedirectional antenna. This permits only a rough estimate of the location,however, an important aspect is that it can be done fairly rapidly. Withthe airborne BTS having an antenna whose gain profile matches the fieldof view of the camera, when new data is received by the antennaregarding identification of the mobile device, an image or video istaken by the video camera, and the image/video is tied to theidentification data received by the antenna. Using a high gain antenna(e.g., with a high gain in a 10 degree field of view) permits increasingthe accuracy of the determination, as long as the subscriber is not toofar, e.g., within a mile or two.

2. An RRLP request is sent. Radio resource location services protocol(RRLP) applies to GSM and UMTS Cellular Networks. It is used to exchangemessages between a handset and an SMLC in order to provide geolocationinformation; e.g., in the case of emergency calls. The protocol wasdeveloped in order to fulfil the Wireless Enhanced 911 requirements inthe United States. However, since the protocol does not use require anyauthentication, and it can be used outside a voice call or SMS transfer,its use is not restricted to emergency calls and can be used by lawenforcement to pinpoint the exact geolocation of the target's mobilephone. The use of this protocol permits receiving GPS/GLONASScoordinates of the mobile device remotely, although only if the GPSsignal is available to be received.

3. Using a voice call, with a subsequent search using an audio signal,people trapped under fallen buildings and landslides can be found,particularly when the subscriber is unable to manually respond.

4. Triangulation can also be used, when the airborne BTS establishes ahidden connection, i.e., the mobile device does not show the call, butthe GSM chip in the phone still is used to identify the coordinates andtransmit them to the BTS. The aircraft, using the antenna andmeasurements of the signal taken from different locations cantriangulate on the location of the subscriber. Then, depending onweather conditions and other factors, a photo or video of the locationcan be taken, to match the coordinates determined by triangulation.Multiple aircraft BTSs can be used, to accelerate the process. Theserver aggregates and processes the information, including thevideo/image data, the antenna direction data, the identification data,the aircraft location data, the received signal power data, and so on.

As shown in FIG. 1, the following steps are performed:

1. Scanning of all ARFCNs in the given GSM standard is performed in step102.

2. Ranking of ARFCNs according to the capacity of their DownLink channelis performed in step 104.

3. Is the signal power higher than N dbm? (step 106.)

4. The ARFCN channel is listed as busy (step 108.)

5. Was the BCCH channel successfully found? (step 110.)

6. Recording the identifying data (MCC and MNC), which have beenextracted from the channel (step 112.)

7. Looking for a free ARFCN channel (step 114.)

8. Switching on intelligent jamming of all channels listed as busy (step116.)

9. Is the roaming imitation mode on? (step 118.)

10. (yes) Choosing non-existent MNC and MCC (step 120.)

11. (no) Varying MNCs (Mobile Network Code) and MCCs (Mobile CountryCode) listed as busy (step 124.)

12. Collecting identifying data of a mobile device (step 122.)

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary system utilizing the ideas describedherein. The subscriber terminals 59 can connect to the mobile network(stationary or mobile BTS). The BTS has to support the relevantstandards expected by the mobile devices 59.

A duplexer 402 is used to mix the receiving and transmitting channel.The use of the duplexer improves the quality of the received signal andpermits using the same antenna for both sending and receiving.

Software Defined Radio (SDR) 403 is a technology that permits usingsoftware to dynamically change the frequencies, modulation, power andother parameters of the radio signal. The processing of the signal isdone on the computer 404. The use of the SDR platform also permits easydetermination of the signal powers at various frequencies.

The computer 404 processes the signals and emulates the behavior of aBTS. The computer 404 also stores a database of subscribers. Thesoftware on the computer 404 defines the standards used by the BTS tocommunicate with the subscribers. The computer 440 also runs algorithmsfor determining the location of the subscriber using triangulation, andreceives the images/video from the camera 406.

The external server 405 receives the data, such as coordinates of theaircraft, its orientation in 3-D space, identification data of thesubscribers, activity on the radio channels, photo and/or video filesfrom the aircraft and any other cameras. By comparing the data(optionally, from multiple aircraft), the server can determine thelocation of the subscribers based on their signal strength and otherdata. All the aircraft have their clocks synchronized. The server canproduce reports, generate statistics and analyze the images to matchthem to mobile device identifiers. The server can also connect remotelyto the airborne BTSs to configure them.

The camera 406 with zoom is used to capture images that match anantenna's gain profile.

FIG. 5 illustrates another aspect of the exemplary system utilizing theideas described herein. In FIG. 5, 501 is the aircraft, such as ahelicopter, a blimp, a drone, a quadracopter, etc. The aircraft needssufficient lifting power to carry an airborne BTS, the antenna(s) andthe camera 506. The aircraft is controlled remotely, either using thesame channels as those utilized by the BTS, or a separate dedicatedchannel. In some cases, using a spooled wire to control the aircraft maybe possible, to increase on-station time.

502 is the BTS, further described above. 503 is the antenna, withvarious gain profiles, which permits efficiently locating thesubscribers. Both highly directive and diffuse gain profiles can be used(highly directive for location, diffuse for mobile connections).

406 is the camera with zoom, as described above.

The aircraft may have one or more of the subsystems discussed below,which permit improving some of the parameters of the aircraft.

1. A protective airbag in case of a crash of the unmanned aerialvehicle. The airbag may be inflated either using pyrobolts or using theon-board engine or turbine of the UAV itself. This is more effectivethan a parachute, since the size and weight of such an airbag are muchless, and is generally safer for the public. The airbag(s) is mounted onthe surface of the UAV, generally on the bottom-facing surface. Anywherefrom 1 to 2-8 such airbags may be used.

The airbag activation system can have a power supply that is separatefrom the rest of the UAV, and can deploy either automatically ormanually. For example, it can deploy during severe vibration oracceleration overloads, critical control system errors, when a fall isdetected, or upon manual instruction from the pilot.

2. A heating system for electronics can be installed on the UAV,depending on weather conditions and geographic region where the UAV isused. Sensors for the temperature conditions are also mounted inside theUAV, in proximity to the on-board electronics, in order to know when toactivate the heating system. The on-board electronics is generallyhoused in a thermally protected compartment of the UAV, and circuitboards can be covered with a water-resistant coating, such as silicagel.

The battery compartment is also protected from water and moisturedamage, and can have its own heating elements. The power wiring useslow-resistance high-cross-section conductors. When the UAV is started,the first thing to activate is usually the heating system (at a minimum,to check if heating is needed). Then, once proper temperature isreached, the on-board electronics can start, and the engine can beingoperation. The heating system is responsible for maintaining propertemperature of the batteries and the electronics throughout the flight.

3. The BTS uses an antenna with a highly directional profile of itsdirectional diagram, generally with the peak of the gain being in thedownward direction. As a further option, the antenna can be mounted on asuspension with one or two degrees of rotational freedom, and rotatedusing a motor, in order to better determine the direction towards thetransmitter (subscriber's mobile device), and/or to optimize theorientation of the antenna so as to avoid interfering with the radiocommands to the UAV. The motor is controlled using the on-boardelectronics+

4. The antenna(s) are mounted so as to improve electromagneticcompatibility characteristics. In the case of separate antennas thatreceive and transmit, these antennas should be as far as possible fromeach other. Satellite receiving antennas, if any, should preferably belocated on separate mounting brackets. Ground shielding can be usedbetween the antenna(s) and the rest of the electronics.

5. As another option, the antennas may be placed in plasma volumes,where the plasma is excited so as to permit transmission of the relevantfrequencies and filtering of other frequencies, including filtering ofelectromagnetic effects of the various components of the UAV on eachother.

6. The on-board electronics provides for both remotely piloted mode andfor autonomous mode using pre-programmed flight patterns, based on GPSsignals or inertial navigation systems or both. The on-board processorcan generate its own flight pattern based on specific task parametersand the UAV/BTS/antenna characteristics and the expected area that needsto be covered.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary mobile device 59 on which theinvention can be implemented. The mobile device 59 can be, for example,a personal digital assistant, a cellular telephone, a network appliance,a camera, a smart phone, an enhanced general packet radio service(EGPRS) mobile phone, a network base station, a media player, anavigation device, an email device, a game console, or a combination ofany two or more of these data processing devices or other dataprocessing devices.

In some implementations, the mobile device 59 includes a touch-sensitivedisplay 73. The touch-sensitive display 73 can implement liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) technology, light emitting polymer display (LPD)technology, or some other display technology. The touch-sensitivedisplay 73 can be sensitive to haptic and/or tactile contact with auser.

In some implementations, the touch-sensitive display 73 can comprise amulti-touch-sensitive display 73. A multi-touch-sensitive display 73can, for example, process multiple simultaneous touch points, includingprocessing data related to the pressure, degree and/or position of eachtouch point. Such processing facilitates gestures and interactions withmultiple fingers, chording, and other interactions. Othertouch-sensitive display technologies can also be used, e.g., a displayin which contact is made using a stylus or other pointing device.

In some implementations, the mobile device 59 can display one or moregraphical user interfaces on the touch-sensitive display 73 forproviding the user access to various system objects and for conveyinginformation to the user. In some implementations, the graphical userinterface can include one or more display objects 74, 76. In the exampleshown, the display objects 74, 76, are graphic representations of systemobjects. Some examples of system objects include device functions,applications, windows, files, alerts, events, or other identifiablesystem objects.

In some implementations, the mobile device 59 can implement multipledevice functionalities, such as a telephony device, as indicated by aphone object 91; an e-mail device, as indicated by the e-mail object 92;a network data communication device, as indicated by the Web object 93;a Wi-Fi base station device (not shown); and a media processing device,as indicated by the media player object 94. In some implementations,particular display objects 74, e.g., the phone object 91, the e-mailobject 92, the Web object 93, and the media player object 94, can bedisplayed in a menu bar 95. In some implementations, devicefunctionalities can be accessed from a top-level graphical userinterface, such as the graphical user interface illustrated in thefigure. Touching one of the objects 91, 92, 93 or 94 can, for example,invoke corresponding functionality.

In some implementations, the mobile device 59 can implement networkdistribution functionality. For example, the functionality can enablethe user to take the mobile device 59 and its associated network whiletraveling. In particular, the mobile device 59 can extend Internetaccess (e.g., Wi-Fi) to other wireless devices in the vicinity. Forexample, mobile device 59 can be configured as a base station for one ormore devices. As such, mobile device 59 can grant or deny network accessto other wireless devices.

In some implementations, upon invocation of device functionality, thegraphical user interface of the mobile device 59 changes, or isaugmented or replaced with another user interface or user interfaceelements, to facilitate user access to particular functions associatedwith the corresponding device functionality. For example, in response toa user touching the phone object 91, the graphical user interface of thetouch-sensitive display 73 may present display objects related tovarious phone functions; likewise, touching of the email object 92 maycause the graphical user interface to present display objects related tovarious e-mail functions; touching the Web object 93 may cause thegraphical user interface to present display objects related to variousWeb-surfing functions; and touching the media player object 94 may causethe graphical user interface to present display objects related tovarious media processing functions.

In some implementations, the top-level graphical user interfaceenvironment or state can be restored by pressing a button 96 locatednear the bottom of the mobile device 59. In some implementations, eachcorresponding device functionality may have corresponding “home” displayobjects displayed on the touch-sensitive display 73, and the graphicaluser interface environment can be restored by pressing the “home”display object.

In some implementations, the top-level graphical user interface caninclude additional display objects 76, such as a short messaging service(SMS) object, a calendar object, a photos object, a camera object, acalculator object, a stocks object, a weather object, a maps object, anotes object, a clock object, an address book object, a settings object,and an app store object 97. Touching the SMS display object can, forexample, invoke an SMS messaging environment and supportingfunctionality; likewise, each selection of a display object can invoke acorresponding object environment and functionality.

Additional and/or different display objects can also be displayed in thegraphical user interface. For example, if the device 59 is functioningas a base station for other devices, one or more “connection” objectsmay appear in the graphical user interface to indicate the connection.In some implementations, the display objects 76 can be configured by auser, e.g., a user may specify which display objects 76 are displayed,and/or may download additional applications or other software thatprovides other functionalities and corresponding display objects.

In some implementations, the mobile device 59 can include one or moreinput/output (I/O) devices and/or sensor devices. For example, a speaker60 and a microphone 62 can be included to facilitate voice-enabledfunctionalities, such as phone and voice mail functions. In someimplementations, an up/down button 84 for volume control of the speaker60 and the microphone 62 can be included. The mobile device 59 can alsoinclude an on/off button 82 for a ring indicator of incoming phonecalls. In some implementations, a loud speaker 64 can be included tofacilitate hands-free voice functionalities, such as speaker phonefunctions. An audio jack 66 can also be included for use of headphonesand/or a microphone.

In some implementations, a proximity sensor 68 can be included tofacilitate the detection of the user positioning the mobile device 59proximate to the user's ear and, in response, to disengage thetouch-sensitive display 73 to prevent accidental function invocations.In some implementations, the touch-sensitive display 73 can be turnedoff to conserve additional power when the mobile device 59 is proximateto the user's ear.

Other sensors can also be used. For example, in some implementations, anambient light sensor 70 can be utilized to facilitate adjusting thebrightness of the touch-sensitive display 73. In some implementations,an accelerometer 72 can be utilized to detect movement of the mobiledevice 59, as indicated by the directional arrows. Accordingly, displayobjects and/or media can be presented according to a detectedorientation, e.g., portrait or landscape. In some implementations, themobile device 59 may include circuitry and sensors for supporting alocation determining capability, such as that provided by the globalpositioning system (GPS) or other positioning systems (e.g., systemsusing Wi-Fi access points, television signals, cellular grids, UniformResource Locators (URLs)). In some implementations, a positioning system(e.g., a GPS receiver) can be integrated into the mobile device 59 orprovided as a separate device that can be coupled to the mobile device59 through an interface (e.g., port device 90) to provide access tolocation-based services.

The mobile device 59 can also include a camera lens and sensor 80. Insome implementations, the camera lens and sensor 80 can be located onthe back surface of the mobile device 59. The camera can capture stillimages and/or video.

The mobile device 59 can also include one or more wireless communicationsubsystems, such as an 802.11b/g communication device 86, and/or aBLUETOOTH communication device 88. Other communication protocols canalso be supported, including other 802.x communication protocols (e.g.,WiMax, Wi-Fi, 3G, LTE), code division multiple access (CDMA), globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment(EDGE), etc.

In some implementations, the port device 90, e.g., a Universal SerialBus (USB) port, or a docking port, or some other wired port connection,is included. The port device 90 can, for example, be utilized toestablish a wired connection to other computing devices, such as othercommunication devices 59, network access devices, a personal computer, aprinter, or other processing devices capable of receiving and/ortransmitting data. In some implementations, the port device 90 allowsthe mobile device 59 to synchronize with a host device using one or moreprotocols, such as, for example, the TCP/IP, HTTP, UDP and any otherknown protocol. In some implementations, a TCP/IP over USB protocol canbe used.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram 2200 of an example implementation of themobile device 59. The mobile device 59 can include a memory interface2202, one or more data processors, image processors and/or centralprocessing units 2204, and a peripherals interface 2206. The memoryinterface 2202, the one or more processors 2204 and/or the peripheralsinterface 2206 can be separate components or can be integrated in one ormore integrated circuits. The various components in the mobile device 59can be coupled by one or more communication buses or signal lines.

Sensors, devices and subsystems can be coupled to the peripheralsinterface 2206 to facilitate multiple functionalities. For example, amotion sensor 2210, a light sensor 2212, and a proximity sensor 2214 canbe coupled to the peripherals interface 2206 to facilitate theorientation, lighting and proximity functions described above. Othersensors 2216 can also be connected to the peripherals interface 2206,such as a positioning system (e.g., GPS receiver), a temperature sensor,a biometric sensor, or other sensing device, to facilitate relatedfunctionalities.

A camera subsystem 2220 and an optical sensor 2222, e.g., a chargedcoupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)optical sensor, can be utilized to facilitate camera functions, such asrecording photographs and video clips.

Communication functions can be facilitated through one or more wirelesscommunication subsystems 2224, which can include radio frequencyreceivers and transmitters and/or optical (e.g., infrared) receivers andtransmitters. The specific design and implementation of thecommunication subsystem 2224 can depend on the communication network(s)over which the mobile device 59 is intended to operate. For example, amobile device 59 may include communication subsystems 2224 designed tooperate over a GSM network, a GPRS network, an EDGE network, a Wi-Fi orWiMax network, and a BLUETOOTH network. In particular, the wirelesscommunication subsystems 2224 may include hosting protocols such thatthe device 59 may be configured as a base station for other wirelessdevices.

An audio subsystem 2226 can be coupled to a speaker 2228 and amicrophone 2230 to facilitate voice-enabled functions, such as voicerecognition, voice replication, digital recording, and telephonyfunctions.

The I/O subsystem 2240 can include a touch screen controller 2242 and/orother input controller(s) 2244. The touch-screen controller 2242 can becoupled to a touch screen 2246. The touch screen 2246 and touch screencontroller 2242 can, for example, detect contact and movement or breakthereof using any of multiple touch sensitivity technologies, includingbut not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acousticwave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or otherelements for determining one or more points of contact with the touchscreen 2246.

The other input controller(s) 2244 can be coupled to other input/controldevices 2248, such as one or more buttons, rocker switches, thumb-wheel,infrared port, USB port, and/or a pointer device such as a stylus. Theone or more buttons (not shown) can include an up/down button for volumecontrol of the speaker 2228 and/or the microphone 2230.

In one implementation, a pressing of the button for a first duration maydisengage a lock of the touch screen 2246; and a pressing of the buttonfor a second duration that is longer than the first duration may turnpower to the mobile device 59 on or off. The user may be able tocustomize a functionality of one or more of the buttons. The touchscreen 2246 can, for example, also be used to implement virtual or softbuttons and/or a keyboard.

In some implementations, the mobile device 59 can present recorded audioand/or video files, such as MP3, AAC, and MPEG files. In someimplementations, the mobile device 59 can include the functionality ofan MP3 player. The mobile device 59 may, therefore, include a 32-pinconnector that is compatible with the MP3 player. Other input/output andcontrol devices can also be used.

The memory interface 2202 can be coupled to memory 2250. The memory 2250can include high-speed random access memory and/or non-volatile memory,such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or more opticalstorage devices, and/or flash memory (e.g., NAND, NOR). The memory 2250can store an operating system 2252, such as Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX,OS X, ANDROID, IOS, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such asVxWorks. The operating system 2252 may include instructions for handlingbasic system services and for performing hardware dependent tasks. Insome implementations, the operating system 2252 can be a kernel (e.g.,UNIX kernel).

The memory 2250 may also store communication instructions 2254 tofacilitate communicating with one or more additional devices, one ormore computers and/or one or more servers. The memory 2250 may includegraphical user interface instructions 2256 to facilitate graphic userinterface processing including presentation, navigation, and selectionwithin an application store; sensor processing instructions 2258 tofacilitate sensor-related processing and functions; phone instructions2260 to facilitate phone-related processes and functions; electronicmessaging instructions 2262 to facilitate electronic-messaging relatedprocesses and functions; web browsing instructions 2264 to facilitateweb browsing-related processes and functions; media processinginstructions 2266 to facilitate media processing-related processes andfunctions; GPS/Navigation instructions 2268 to facilitate GPS andnavigation-related processes and instructions; camera instructions 2270to facilitate camera-related processes and functions; and/or othersoftware instructions 2272 to facilitate other processes and functions.

Each of the above identified instructions and applications cancorrespond to a set of instructions for performing one or more functionsdescribed above. These instructions need not be implemented as separatesoftware programs, procedures or modules. The memory 2250 can includeadditional instructions or fewer instructions. Furthermore, variousfunctions of the mobile device 59 may be implemented in hardware and/orin software, including in one or more signal processing and/orapplication specific integrated circuits.

With reference to FIG. 6, an exemplary system for implementing theinvention includes a general purpose computing device in the form of apersonal computer or server 404 or the like, including a processing unit21, a system memory 22, and a system bus 23 that couples various systemcomponents including the system memory to the processing unit 21. Thesystem bus 23 may be any of several types of bus structures including amemory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus usingany variety of bus architectures. The system memory includes read-onlymemory (ROM) 24 and random access memory (RAM) 25. A basic input/outputsystem 26 (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transferinformation between elements within the personal computer 404, such asduring start-up, is stored in ROM 24.

The personal computer 404 may further include a hard disk drive 27 forreading from and writing to a hard disk, not shown in the figure, amagnetic disk drive 28 for reading from or writing to a removablemagnetic disk 29, and an optical disk drive 30 for reading from orwriting to a removable optical disk 31 such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM orother optical media. The hard disk drive 27, magnetic disk drive 28, andoptical disk drive 30 are connected to the system bus 23 by a hard diskdrive interface 32, a magnetic disk drive interface 33, and an opticaldrive interface 34, respectively.

The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide anon-volatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules/subroutines, such that may be used to implement thesteps of the method described herein, and other data for the personalcomputer 404.

Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard disk,a removable magnetic disk 29 and a removable optical disk 31, it shouldbe appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computerreadable media that can store data accessible by a computer, such asmagnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoullicartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read-only memories (ROMs) andthe like may also be used in the exemplary operating environment.

A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, magneticdisk 29, optical disk 31, ROM 24 or RAM 25, including an operatingsystem 35 (e.g., Windows™ 2000). The computer 404 includes a file system36 associated with or included within the operating system 35, such asthe Windows NT™ File System (NTFS), one or more application programs 37,other program modules 38 and program data 39. A user may enter commandsand information into the personal computer 404 through input devicessuch as a keyboard 40 and pointing device 42.

Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, gamepad, satellite dish, scanner or the like. These and other input devicesare often connected to the processing unit 21 through a serial portinterface 46 that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected byother interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port or universal serialbus (USB). A monitor 47 or other type of display device is alsoconnected to the system bus 23 via an interface, such as a video adapter48. In addition to the monitor 47, personal computers typically includeother peripheral output devices, such as speakers and printers.

The personal computer 404 may operate in a networked environment usinglogical connections to one or more remote computers 49. The remotecomputer (or computers) 49 may be represented by a personal computer, aserver, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common networknode, and it normally includes many or all of the elements describedabove relative to the personal computer 404, although only a memorystorage device 50 is illustrated. The logical connections include alocal area network (LAN) 51 and a wide area network (WAN) 52. Suchnetworking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-widecomputer networks, Intranets and the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal computer 404 isconnected to the local network 51 through a network interface or adapter53. When used in a WAN networking environment, the personal computer 404typically includes a modem 54 or other means for establishingcommunications over the wide area network 52, such as the Internet. Themodem 54, which may be internal or external, is connected to the systembus 23 via the serial port interface 46.

In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to thepersonal computer 404, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remotememory storage device. It will be appreciated that the networkconnections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing acommunications link between the computers may be used. Such computers asdescribed above can be used in conventional networks, e.g. the Internet,local area networks, regional networks, wide area networks, and soforth. These networks can link various resources, such as usercomputers, servers, Internet service providers, telephones connected tothe network and so on.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment, it should be apparent tothose skilled in the art that certain advantages of the described methodand apparatus have been achieved.

It should also be appreciated that various modifications, adaptationsand alternative embodiments thereof may be made within the scope andspirit of the present invention. The invention is further defined by thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for tracking mobile subscribers, thesystem comprising: (a) an aircraft having an on-board virtual BaseTransmitter Station (BTS) that emulates a stationary BTS and isconfigured to communicate with mobile devices; (b) the virtual BTSincluding a processor running software for managing communication withthe mobile devices and receiving identifiers of the mobile devices; (c)the aircraft also including an antenna for communication with the mobiledevices; and (d) the processor locating a specific subscriber based onradio signals received by the antenna and based on the identifiers, andtransmitting the location of the specific subscriber to a server,wherein the virtual BTS jams only those channels used by the stationaryBTS in order to force the mobile devices to switch to the virtual BTS.2. The system of claim 1, wherein the aircraft is an unmanned aerialvehicle controlled remotely through same radio channels as those used bythe virtual BTS.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual BTScollects IMEI and/or IMSI data of the subscribers, and wherein thevirtual BTS jams particular channels using a white list.
 4. The systemof claim 1, wherein the virtual BTS collects IMEI and/or IMSI data ofthe subscribers, and wherein the virtual BTS jams particular channelsusing a black list.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual BTS isintegrated with existing mobile network operator and supports SMS andpacket traffic using any of the following protocols: SS7, A, A-bis. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual BTS enables a search based onan open audio channel and using acoustic signatures of the mobiledevices, based on a change of position of the aircraft relative to themobile devices.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the virtual BTSenables the search by opening the audio channel with the mobile device.8. The system of claim 6, wherein the virtual BTS enables the searchbased on a signal strength of the connection with the mobile device asmeasured from multiple locations, and based on coordinates of thevirtual BTS.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual BTS also usesdelays or RRLP requests and responses to determine subscriber location.10. The system of claim 1, wherein the antenna has an approximately 10degree field of view.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the antenna hasa field of view that matches a field of view of a camera mounted on theaircraft.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the antenna has a peak gaindirected in a downward direction.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein theantenna is used for determining directions to the mobile devices. 14.The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual BTS emulates mobile operatorinfrastructure, including BTS, BSC, MSC and HLR.
 15. The system of claim1, wherein virtual BTS emulates the stationary BTS so as to beindistinguishable from the stationary BTS to the mobile device.
 16. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein virtual BTS emulates billing operations. 17.The system of claim 1, wherein virtual BTS emulates communicationprotocols.
 18. The system of claim 1, wherein the antenna is a high-gainantenna.
 19. The system of claim 1, wherein the aircraft also includes acamera for taking images or video of the ground, and wherein thelocating is also based on the images or video.
 20. The system of claim1, wherein the software is Software Defined Radio (SDR).